These Are Our Bodies: Young Adult Leader Guide

Talking Faith & Sexuality at Church & Home

Heidi J. A. Carter, Marcus G. Halley, Marcus Halley

• Publisher: Church Publishing
• Year: 2017
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780898690279
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Teaching Health & Sexuality

Faith formation resource for young adults on human sexuality.

Our inherent value and worth comes from God's love for us, but our modern world is filled with sexual expression that too often leads us away from the life of Christ. As Christians seeking to live a life worthy of our calling and desiring to pass along these values to our children and youth, these books (Leader Guide and Participant Book) offer session plans with activities for Young Adults (ages 18–30) to explore issues of sexuality in the context of our faith, building on the foundational book of the same name and as part of the These Are Our Bodies program resource.

Session topics include: • Holiness • Intimacy • Covenant • Love • Biology • Communication • What is Sacred? • Power and Parity • Mind, Body, and Soul • Brokenness and Shame • Our Bodies: Currency and Creators

He made darkness his covering around him, his canopy
thick clouds dark with water.

—Psalm 18:11

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face
to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully,
even as I have been fully known.

—1 Corinthians 13:12

OBJECTIVES

Participants will wrestle with traditional readings of the historical creeds of the Church and how they frame our understanding of God.

Participants will come away with a broader understanding of how the historic creeds of the Church function to frame our conversation on holiness and sexuality.

Participants will ponder the similarities and differences of “believe” and “trust.”

SUPPLIES

pencils or pens (1 per participant)

candle and matches

These Are Our Bodies Young Adult Leader Guides (1 per facilitator)

These Are Our Bodies Young Adult Participant Books (1 per participant)

index cards (for use with the Question Box)

Question Box (or bag . . .)

timer or stopwatch (cellphone timer works well)

easel paper

copies of the Book of Common Prayer (one per participant) or copies of The Nicene Creed, the Definition of the Union of the Divine and Human Natures in the Person of Christ, and The Creed of Saint Athanasius

markers

name tags

PREPARATION

Gather needed supplies.

Set up the room for the session. It is best to arrange the furniture in a way that facilitates group discussion.

Read through the entire session and make notes or conversation prompts.

Review the Guidelines (see pp. 14 and 21).

Review the explanation of the Question Box (pp. 15 and 28–29).

Create the name tags for the participants.

SUGGESTIONS

Review These Are Our Bodies: Foundation Book, Chapter 6: “A New Way of Understanding our Sexuality” beginning on page 47.

Young adults may readily understand the complexity of human sexuality or they may be reticent to do so based on any number of factors including religious and family upbringing and exposure to popular media. Do not be overly anxious if you ask a question and you find that people seem to be reluctant to respond. Offering ample time for people to contemplate provides room for ponderers and introverts to feel included. Give it time. Also, it might be helpful for you to model the responses you desire by an appropriate amount of sharing.

There is a mystery to our faith that we value, not just as Christians, but also as a church. We do not claim to know all the answers, and we welcome questions. As we begin to come together to have conversations, it’s important to name, and claim, a space of openness.

Assurance is not a new concept for young adults. As everyone takes turns reading, listen and encourage exploration. Invite participants to listen for contradictions written about the nature of God as the historical creeds of the Church are reviewed.

As you prepare for this session, it might be useful to familiarize yourself with the language of a mystic, and how they approach the space between what we know, and what we don’t. For example: “This darkness and cloud is always between you and God, no matter what you do and it prevents you from seeing him clearly by the light of understanding in your own reason and from experiencing him in the sweetness of love in your affection. So set yourself to rest in this darkness as long as you can, always crying out after him whom you love. For it you are to experience him or to see him at all, insofar as it is possible here, it must always be in this cloud and in this darkness.”⁷

(10 minutes)

Welcome

•Welcome participants to the class. If time allows, you might do a brief check-in to bring people more fully into the experience.

•Distribute name tags.

•Hand one Participant Book to each participant in the class.

•You might also let the participants know what time you expect to finish and ask someone to be the timekeeper.

•Ask for a volunteer to light the candle to sanctify your time together.

Housekeeping

•The location of restrooms.

•The time you intend to end the session.

•The policy on phone usage during the session.

•Reiterate the commitment to confidentia...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• SESSION 1: The World Yearns for ASSURANCE
• SESSION 2: The World Yearns for CONNECTION
• SESSION 3: The World Yearns for COVENANT IN COMMUNITY
• SESSION 4: The World Yearns for EMPOWERMENT
• SESSION 5: The World Yearns for MUTUALITY
• SESSION 6: The World Yearns for RESPECT
• SESSION 7: The World Yearns for LOVE
• SESSION 8: The World Yearns for PLEASURE
• SESSION 9: The World Yearns for WHOLENESS
• SESSION 10: The World Yearns for MYSTERY
• Appendix
• Back Cover